The Burkhad
The Burkhad, also known as the Triad, are the main force worshipped by the Khun and Burkhad is also the name of the faith. Tenger = Main Article: Yama = The ultimate force in the everyday life and king of the gods. He is also known as Death, Yama, and O-Yama-Kami. He is every decision they make, every breath of air that fills their lungs, and every drop of blood ever spilled. He is infinite as the sky above and equally as mysterious. Tenger is everything that is known, but all that is not. It is said that he can see everything that happens under the sky, all across the world. When he's not busy flying with the eagles, he's making the decisions that alter the lives of every living person. He chooses when they are hurt, when they kill, and when they are killed. He doesn't control it entirely, of course. The choice is ultimately belonging to the living in only one aspect, the promise of Tenger: everyone will one day die and be his to collect, to bring every rider that ever was into his great horde in the sky. The priestess of the sky, or the speaker for Tenger is called the High Shuvuu and she lives in Orgil Khot. Every clan also has a personal Shuvuu, who interprets the will of Tenger and serves as the clan's healer. She is also is in charge of funeral rites, and takes care of the procession and eventual sky burial. The bodies of the dead are typically brought to a mountain peak, leaving the carcass to be feasted upon by carrion birds. As Tenger is the god of the birds, they are ultimately giving the body back to Tenger. Gazar = Main Article: Lady of the Land = Gazar, also known as O-Tochi-Kami and the Lady of the Land, is the goddess of the land, growth, women, and animals. She is also significantly prayed to regarding horses and childbirth, in particular. There are many fantastical stories how she created the world to stable the kingdom of the sky, becoming the Khatan Khaan of the Land. She is said to be a loving but stern maternal figure. While her husband is said to change his mind at every instance "with the blow of the wind" she is said to be unmoving in her decisions, rigid like the mountain. She is the ultimate force of stubbornness and as a result, stubbornness in women is regarded as attractive and a desirable trait for future mothers to the Khun. The priestess of the land is called the High Shulam and she works closely with the Shuvuu out of Orgil Khot. While her counterpart primarily deals with healing and funeral rites, the Shulam often extends advice and blessings, including extremely accurate predictions of the coming weather. She also has been known to declare prophecies, as Gazar is unchanging in her decisions and once she says she will do something, she certainly will. Like the Shuvuu, each clan has a Shulam to oversee childbirth and watch the weather. Ariun = Main Article: Ariun = Ariun was originally a woman named Tsenkher Tsetseg, according to the lore. She was a Shuvuu who was so pure and devout in her service to Tenger that she actually developed a friendship with the god. Out of jealousy, Gazar whipped up a massive snowstorm that got Tsetseg and her entire clan lost in the snow, eventually to die of starvation and exposure. When Tenger came to collect the dead souls, he was shocked and saddened to see his friend among them. Her skin was frozen blue from the cold. In grief, Tenger chose to look away, which also serves to pass the gaze of death away from her. Although a corpse, Ariun's soul was never taken. She continues to live to this day by Tenger's grace, serving as his eternal messenger. Ariun has no priestesses as she is only a priestess herself, although some regard her as a demigod or angelic figure. She is, in practice, said to be the one whom the Shuvuu and Shulam obey in their religious structure, with the ever-unseen Ariun as the highest speaker for the gods. Ariun is said to still have her blue skin as an immortal woman and is easily recognized. For this reason, she never appears to the masses and only comes as a whisper or to a private audience of one. Category:Khun